1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a zipper pull, and particularly relates to a zipper pull with a cover member capable of realizing stable and good receiving and holding property of a zipper pull-tub for a long period of time and further, capable of preventing backlash among respective component parts with each other.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, for example, zippers are widely used as fasteners for articles, such as bags and rucksacks, and for clothing articles, such as jackets, sweat suits, etc. As one example of the zippers, there is a common zipper pull attached to an opening of the aforementioned articles, which comprises a slider body selectively engaging and disengaging opposed engaging elements of a pair of co-operating zipper stringers by operation of a zipper pull, and a pull-tab that is made of a rigid material and is movably connected to the slider.
In addition, as the other example of the zippers, there is a zipper pull, which comprises three members including the slider body, the pull-tab and a cover member. This cover member is connected to the pull-tab and is adapted to be movable between a first position in which the pull-tab is concealed and a second position in which the pull-tab is revealed. This zipper provided with the cover member is often used as fasteners of clothes used by motorcyclists. The clothes can be made of leather, imitation leather, or similar materials, and which in general are rather costly. In such clothes, a prolonged and frequent bouncing of the pull-tab in use may, besides being annoying the rider, causes wear and damage of the portions of the clothes adjoining the zipper pull because the zipper pull directly contacts the adjoining portions of the clothes, and thereby representing inconvenience.
An example of a zipper provided with such kind of cover member is disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,988,761. In the zipper pull disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 1,988,761, a flat, rigid cover plate is hingedly connected to the pull-tab. The cover plate is resiliently biased at the first position (a rest position), in which an unornamental assembly comprising the slider body and the pull-tab is concealed, in a direction contacting the adjoining portions of the article. Consequently, more neat and ornamental articles can be obtained.
On the other hand, as the other example of this zipper pull, for example, the specification of U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,538 discloses the other zipper pull having a pull-tab. A portion of a ring is integrally fixed to a free end of the pull-tab disclosed in this specification so as to surround this pull-tab, at the same time of molding the ring. This ring is always biased to an element side such that this ring is located on the same plane as the pull-tab. Therefore, when the ring is rotatably operated in a direction at which the ring is detached from the elements at a certain angle, its rebound resilience has been increased. This attaching position and the resilience of the ring acts for reducing the tendency of the zipper pull to bounce, which can be particularly annoying a person involved in a ritmic activity such as jogging. This resilient ring however leaves the pull-tab and the slider body of the zipper substantially unconcealed.
As described above, the zipper pull disclosed in the above mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 1,988,761 is biased to the first position in which the assembly is concealed in a direction contacting the adjoining portions of the article. Therefore, structurally, this zipper pull may be easily affected by the above mentioned defects and in this point, this zipper pull remains the same as before. Further, according to this conventional zipper pull, a connected portion shaped in a hinge between the rigid cover plate and the pull-tab is embossed upward and as well, the free end of the cover plate conceals the pull-tab with being abutting on a top surface of the slider body. Thus, for example, when this zipper pull is used as the fastener of the clothes used by the motorcyclist and the zipper pull bounces for a long time during use, the free end of the cover plate hits the top surface of the slider body hardly and this also involves a defect such that backlash among respective component parts may be generated as well as the hitting sound may annoy the motorcyclist.
In addition, the zipper pull disclosed in the above mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,538, as described above, has a function to reduce the tendency of the zipper pull to bounce by the attaching position of the ring for fixing the free end of the pull-tab and the resilience of the ring, however, the ring does not conceal the pull-tab and the slider body of the zipper. Therefore, not only the slider body of the zipper but also the structure around the connected portion with this pull are revealed to the outside, so that the article looks unattractive. In addition, according to this conventional zipper pull, the ring contacts the engaging elements more than the art disclosed in the above mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 1,988,761, so that the ring resiliently abut on a row of the engaging elements upon each turning the pull-tab via this ring. In this case, the ring may hit the adjoining portion of the clothes or the other articles and it is possible that the ring may damage the elements and their adjoining portion.